This is the first time I have heard of steemit because I got a call from a homeless man named Brooke who I have been helping off and on for decades now. He said he got $17,000 because somebody wrote a story about him on steemit that must have touched a nerve with some generous people. The guy that posted it for him sounds like a nice person who was not expecting such a great response from steemit. It has given Brooke a new lease on life. Brooke said he just bought a car that is in nice shape with some of the money. Not all the money was from steemit though. Somebody gave him $4500 cash because he saw his story on steemit and was able to track him down to give him the cash. Somebody else is going to give him a motor home to live in, he said. I found some pictures of him on the web holding a bunch of hundred dollar bills. So he is receiving the money and it is a legit story. I met him back in the 70's in better times when he bought a car I was selling. He had a lot of misfortune later on after his parents died and finds it hard to keep a job with all his ailments. People are not always nice to him when he is signing by the road, telling him to go get a job etc while they drive off in an expensive car. He has been in tears at times telling me stories of abuse that make him want to end it all. I usually try to give him some work washing cars or cleaning up the yard at my auto repair shop but it is hard for him to work very long in his condition. Sometimes we just give some money for food, gas or buy clothing for him. I help with his car when I can. Sometimes he gets stuck and I will run a battery for the car out to him or blankets on a cold night. It is nice that he is getting some help from people online now. It gives him a feeling of self worth though if he can earn some money working. He told me that there was a dental procedure that went wrong and resulted in some damage years ago which does not help. It is not always easy trying to help somebody who has trouble managing money. It can be frustrating at times when nothing changes after decades but it is an ongoing problem that a lot of homeless people face who just cannot help their own plight because of disabilities. I think there should be places for them to go with a bed, showers and meals provided by the County or Social Security instead of handing out a check every month that is gone in a few days. It has been shown in Canada that it is less expensive to house people than deal with all the issues on the streets.